


Woke Up New

by 27summer



Category: Glee
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 14:24:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10664499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/27summer/pseuds/27summer
Summary: Written for Faberry Week Day 5 Body Switch in June of 2013.  Rachel and Quinn wake up in each other bodies and have to navigate their way through it.





	Woke Up New

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place after 3x13 Heart, but mentions Sebastian’s blackmail and the songs New Directions sing at Regionals from 3x14 On My Own. Nothing else from the episode is relevant.

Quinn could never tell Rachel this but the first thing that felt wrong was her nose. When she woke up, she brought her hands to her nose and poked, trying to understand why she felt weird. Then, she realized her pillows were too fluffy. Her eyes flew open and she realized she was in some strange room. She screeched and sat up, trying to remember where she was. She had gone to bed in her own room the night before. She remembered reading a book before turning the lights out. So, how did she leave? And where exactly was she? She searched the room, hoping to find a clue as to where she was. She barely registered the Broadway posters and sheets of music everywhere as she frantically made her way around the room. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and screamed. It wasn’t her face. It was Rachel Berry.

A phone rang somewhere in the room but Quinn couldn’t bring herself to answer it. All she could do was stare at Rachel’s face in her mirror. She looked down at her body and saw it wasn’t just her face. It was Rachel’s body, too. Somehow, she had gotten into Rachel’s body. How the hell did that happen? The phone started ringing once again and she stumbled to her night stand and picked it up. She was staring at her own name on the phone. “Hello?”

“What took so long to answer? Is this Quinn? Are you in my body? How did this happen? What are we going to do?” Rachel spit out the questions so fast that Quinn could figure out which one to answer first. It frustrated Rachel and she started talking again. “Are you okay? Did someone else do this? Answer me, Quinn.”

“I- I’m here. I don’t know what to say. I woke up and I was you. I guess that means you’re me, Rachel?” Quinn asked, still in a daze.

“Yes.” Rachel stared at Quinn’s reflection in the mirror. This was so weird. What in the world had happened? And what should they do? “I don’t know what’s going on, either. It was the same for me. I went to bed in my room and woke up in yours.”

“Did- did you make a wish that you could be me or something?”

Rachel rolled her eyes. “This isn’t a movie, Quinn. This is real life.”

“Okay. What the hell are we going to do? I have an English test today. I can’t skip but I obviously can’t go to class looking like you,” Quinn snapped.

“We’ll have pretend to be each other. Just until we can figure out how to fix this.”

“Oh, wonderful.” Quinn paused, trying to control her temper. This wasn’t Rachel’s fault. “Look, my mom should already be gone. Just meet me in the choir room before the bell.”

“My dads will be there but just say you have a glee project and they won’t ask any questions about it. I’ll see you then.”

“Okay. Bye.”

“Bye.” Rachel hung up the phone before walking over to Quinn’s closet. How could she possibly express herself if she had to dress like Quinn?

\--------------

Pacing around the choir room, Quinn checked her watch for the fifteenth time in the past three minutes. She blew out a breath, trying to calm herself down. She couldn’t have a freak out right now. Sure, Rachel was kind of dramatic but there was no way she could explain what was wrong with her. They’d both end up locked in a nut house. All of a sudden, the door flew up and she found herself looking at a disheveled version of herself. “Holy Crap. This is crazy.”

“It is.” Rachel’s eyes widened as she stared at herself. “What are we going to do?”

“I- I guess we just go to class and try to blend in.” Quinn shrugged her shoulders, tugging on the impossibly short skirt she was wearing.

“What are you doing?” Rachel asked, walking over to Quinn.

“I’m trying to keep the world from seeing my underwear. Are you aware that all of your clothes are ridiculously revealing? I’ve felt like everyone was staring at me.”

“They probably were but not because of the clothes. I’m a star, Quinn, and everyone is amazed because of my talent.”

Quinn looked at her, wondering if she was actually serious. Then she remembered who she was talking to and knew she was. “Whatever. I- I think we just have to try not to get noticed. Avoid talking to anyone who might notice that we’re acting differently.”

Rachel shook her head. “That won’t work. I’m supposed to have lunch with Finn.”

“I could just tell him I need to study.” Quinn wrinkled her nose at the thought of eating with Finn. The best part of not being with him was not having to watch him inhale his food like he hadn’t eaten in three years.

“No, we’re going over our plans for New York after we’re married.”

“Oh, my God. You’re not serious.”

“What? Why are you so irritated?”

“Are you really making plans like you and Finn are going to be together forever?” Quinn demanded. “You can’t actually think that’s going to work out.”

Rachel groaned. “Don’t, Quinn. I love Finn. We’re going to get married and go to New York. It’ll work. I know it will.”

“No, it won’t. I don’t know why you can’t see that.” Quinn shook her head, aggravated that Rachel was still hung up on this fairytale life. “Do you really see Finn finding a place in New York? Does he even know what he wants to do?”

“We’re still in high school. He doesn’t have to have everything figured out,” Rachel said weakly. Why wouldn’t Quinn let it go?

“Yes, he does. Because you guys are going to be married. Taking care of each other. You have to have a plan or you’re going to end up stuck in this town, ruining your life.” Quinn sighed. They didn‘t have time to have argument about Rachel screwing herself over. “Look, let’s write down our schedules so we know where we need to go.”

“Fine.” Rachel frowned. Why did Quinn always do this to her? Why did she always make her feel so uneasy and unsure of herself?

\------------------

Quinn tapped her fingers impatiently on the table as Finn flipped through some book Rachel had given him. She couldn’t believe she actually had to sit here and help plan Rachel’s wedding. It was like some cruel joke because of all the horrible things she used to do to Rachel. Not only did she have to plan it, but she had to listen to all of Finn’s idiotic ideas. “You are not serious.”

“What? I just think it would be cool. All the flowers in here are girly. But black flowers, Rach? That would be awesome!” Finn looked so earnest that Quinn almost didn’t want to slap him senseless.

“No. That’s stupid.” Quinn held up a hand as he started to protest. “Come on, Finn. I don’t know if there are any black flowers that aren’t half dead but, no. We’d look like total idiots.”

“Why are you being so mean? This is my wedding, too. I already agreed to go to New York with you, I think you should let me have what I want.”

“Yeah, because you have so many plans that moving to New York would interrupt,” Quinn retorted, sick of his whining. He had Rachel, what else did he need?”

“That’s- screw you.” Finn jumped up from the table and stormed off.

“Oh, man.” Quinn buried her face in her hands. She really hadn’t meant to lose it like that. Finn just said dumb things and she couldn’t help it. But Rachel was going to flip out. She didn’t ever see how much better she deserved than Finn Hudson. Quinn wished she knew how to convince her that she should have everything she wanted.

“Come with me.” Rachel grabbed her arm and led her outside, not stopping until they were completely alone. “What did you say to Finn? I ran into him and he said you said he was a loser.”

“I’m sorry, I- he was being stupid and I had to tell him.” Quinn looked down at her hands. She hated it when Rachel was disappointed in her.

Rachel sighed. “Quinn-”

“Look, I’m sorry but he wanted black flowers at your wedding.”

“What?” Rachel looked shocked for a moment before shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter. Why did you make him feel bad?”

Quinn brought her gaze back to Rachel’s and cringed at the displeasure she saw. “I didn’t mean to. I just did.”

“You need to apologize to him.” Rachel stared in disbelief as Quinn rolled her eyes. “I’m not kidding. He is my fiancé, not just my boyfriend. I love him. I don’t want this stupid switch to ruin things between us. And if you can’t bring yourself to apologize than I guess my friendship doesn’t mean that much to you.”

“Of course. Fine. I’ll go find him now. Are we done now?”

“I- Quinn-”

“Forget it, Rachel. You’ll get what you want. I’ll go grovel to your precious Finn and things will go back to normal.” Quinn stomped off before Rachel had a chance to respond.

Rachel gaped after her, wondering how the situation got reversed. She was the one who was angry but Quinn took off. What was wrong with her?

\---------------

Quinn shuffled through the take out menus in the Berry kitchen, wondering how Rachel was doing at dinner with her mom. She’d texted Rachel and told her to just keep her mouth shut. Her mom would do most of the talking and then leave for the night. There was no reason that her mom would suspect anything. The woman was so self-involved that so long as Quinn wasn’t getting arrested, it didn’t matter what she did.

Walking over to the refrigerator, Quinn decided to just make a sandwich. Rachel’s dads had left money for her to eat, but she felt weird about spending their money, especially when she and Rachel couldn’t get along. That was what really bothered her. As much as she didn’t want to fight with Rachel, she just couldn’t help herself. The girl just infuriated her. She was the most talented person in this place and she was going to throw it all away on a high school romance. But she also didn’t want to fight with her. She didn’t want Rachel to be upset with her. She cared about her too much. She just wanted all of this to stop. She needed things to work out with Rachel. She need her friendship. Sometimes, she thought it was the only thing she really needed.

Quinn finished making her sandwich and headed for the table. She knew what she had to do, no matter how much she disliked it. She had to suck it up and keep her mouth shut. Rachel wanted Finn and she had to accept that.

\--------------------

Rachel sat in amazement as Judy continued to talk. She was unaware that anyone besides herself could talk that much. It was making it difficult for her to pretend to eat. She’d eaten the corn and salad but all she’d managed to do with the meat was cut it up and push it along her plate. Finally, Judy took a bit of food and Rachel had a chance to talk. “What are you doing tonight?”

“I’m going out with your father. He’s taking me to a movie.”

“What?” Rachel’s eyes grew wide and she knew she was doing an awful job of acting like Quinn. Quinn was fantastic at being stoic. She hid her emotions like a champ. But Rachel just couldn’t. She couldn’t hide her feelings.

Judy sighed. “I know you’re not happy about it but I love him. I promised that he wouldn’t move back in until you left for college and that nothing would stop me from paying for Yale. I meant it and I’m not going to let you down again, Quinn. I love you. But I love your father, too.”

“I- All right.” Rachel kept her eyes on her dinner plate, knowing she wouldn’t be able to hide her disbelief if Judy looked in her eyes. But how could anyone want to be with a man who kicked his daughter out. “I’m not really hungry. Can I be excused?”

“Yes, go ahead.” 

Rachel darted up the stairs to Quinn’s room and laid on the bed. No wonder Quinn was so closed off. If her mother was so willing to put someone else ahead of her, how could Quinn learn how to be close to anyone? How could she learn to love someone? It made Rachel’s heart ache to think that she probably felt so alone. After they got out of this mess, Rachel was going to be a great friend to her. That was exactly what she needed.

\--------------------

Rachel opened her eyes and felt a ball of disappointment. She was still in Quinn’s body. She had truly believed that whatever happened would resolve itself and she’d be back in her body but, no. She was still Quinn. Sighing, she checked Quinn’s phone and saw she had a message from her own phone. Quinn wanted to meet before school. She texted her back and hopped out of bed. She had bought some new clothes yesterday and she wanted to see how Quinn would look in them. The other girl really didn’t take advantage of how gorgeous she was and she wanted to show her how great she could look. Quinn had amazing legs and the rest of her body was hard to look away from. Rachel could help but take a few glimpses, even though she knew it was wrong. She held the clothes up to her and smiled. Quinn would look fantastic.

\--------------------

Quinn paced nervously in the choir room, hoping Rachel would get there soon. She really was close to losing it. She was still in Rachel’s body. What in the world was she supposed to do? What if they stayed like this? What would happen? What- “What in the world are you wearing, Rachel?”

“Oh, I bought some clothes yesterday. How do I look?” Rachel twirled around, showing off the short skirt she wore.

“Don’t do that.” Quinn rushed over to her and pulled the skirt down. “What is the matter with you? I don’t wear clothes like that.”

“You should. You look good like this, Quinn.”

“I don’t need this.” Quinn rubbed her forehead. “How can you possibly think now is the right time to give me a makeover? We’ve got a problem. What if we stay like this?”

Rachel shook her head. “I don’t know. I thought for sure we’d be switched back when we woke up but we’re not.”

“I was reading on the internet and I’ve got a few ideas. I don’t know if they’ll work but they can’t possibly make things worse.”

“Well, what is it?”

“It sounds stupid, but we should run into each other.” Quinn waited while Rachel stared incredulously at her. “Yeah, I know but maybe we‘re having some shared hallucination.”

“That’s something Finn would say.”

“Hey! At least I’m trying. I don’t see you coming up with anything. All you’re doing is buying clothes to make me look like you. I guess I should be glad there’s not a unicorn on the sweater.” Quinn rolled her eyes at Rachel’s hurt look. “Don’t. You compared me to Finn. I’m the one who should be insulted.”

“Why do you always have to put him down? I love him.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Quinn muttered, hoping Rachel hadn’t heard her. Judging by the look in her eyes, Quinn knew she wasn’t that lucky. “I don’t mean that.”

“Yes, you did. And I don’t know why. You dated him, too. You must have loved at least a little. Why do you act like he’s not good enough?” Rachel asked.

Quinn walked across the room, needing a little distance from Rachel. Sometimes, she felt like she couldn’t breathe around her. “Finn’s a nice guy sometimes. But he didn’t treat me well. And, yeah, I screwed up, too, especially the first time we were together. But I just don’t see why I should pretend like he’s this wonderful guy when all he does is treat you like you should change. And you know I’m right.”

“No, I don’t.” Rachel shook her head. “Finn loves me. And- and maybe he didn’t treat you right because you didn’t deserve it.”

“Maybe not.” Quinn bent down to pick up Rachel’s bag and hide her hurt.

“Wait. I didn’t mean to say that.” Rachel tried to grab Quinn’s hand but she shook her off. “Please. Listen to me.”

“Just drop it, Rach. Let’s just try to make it through this day without killing each other. Maybe tomorrow we’ll be switched back and we won’t have to act as if we’re friends.”

“We- we’re friends.”

Quinn scoffed, still avoiding eye contact with Rachel. She definitely didn’t want her to realize how hurt she was. Rachel had inadvertently hit a sore spot. Quinn figured she wasn’t the kind of girl that guys wanted to really be with, she was just the one they wanted because of her image. She really didn’t want to hear anyone else confirm it. “No, not really. We don’t hang out. We don’t listen to each other. The only thing we really have in common is Glee and Finn. And that’s nothing.”

“No. I care about you, Quinn,” Rachel insisted. “I always have. I just- I don’t know how to make you believe it.”

“Don’t bother. We graduate in a few months. I’ll go to Yale and you’ll become Mrs. Finn Hudson and we probably won’t ever have a reason to talk again.” Quinn shrugged her shoulders, hoping Rachel couldn’t tell how much the idea of never speaking to her again really bothered her. “It’s okay. That’s how it’s always been with me. People want to date or be friends with the image. But the reality isn’t too great.”

“Quinn.” Rachel’s heart dropped into her stomach. Quinn stood hunched over, her body tense. She’d never meant to make her feel bad.

“I’ll talk to you later.” Quinn walked out, leaving Rachel staring after her.

\------------------------

Quinn poked at the food she had on her plate, half listening to Kurt and Blaine discussing New York and NYADA. She’d wanted to skip out on lunch but Kurt had cornered her and drug her to the cafeteria. She didn’t want to think about anything related to Rachel but of course, all the boys were discussing was Kurt’s audition. A hand on her shoulder surprised her. “Huh? What?”

“Are you okay, Rachel? You’re off in space today.” Blaine asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just- just thinking about my audition,” Quinn spit out, recalling the conversation they had been having.

“Me, too.” Kurt nodded. “I haven’t decided what song to sing yet.”

“Me, either.”

“Really? But you’ve been scribbling in your notebook for days.” Kurt pointed at the notebook in Quinn’s hands.

“Well, I- I’m still trying to figure it out. Writing out ideas.” Quinn flipped the notebook opened and pretended to read over it.

“That makes sense.”

Quinn blocked out the boys' conversation as she got a look at Rachel’s notes. She had been working on song selection but most of it was her putting herself down. Not good enough. Not pretty. Nose too big. Selfish. Ambitious. God, Rachel was about as insecure as she was. Even as angry as she was at her, Quinn wanted to run over to her and wrap her up. Why did she feel like this? Why did nobody make her feel better? Why didn’t Finn tell her how wonderful she was?

Quinn shook her head. She knew why Finn didn’t shore up her confidence. She remembered the insecurity of dating him quite well. His wandering eye did a number on her own confidence. But she’d really thought that had more to do with the fact that he was hung up on Rachel. Surely, he’d make Rachel feel better. But apparently not. Rachel seemed to be feeling awful. She had to find the other girl. She stood up. “I’ll talk to you guys later. I just remembered I’ve got to go talk to Ms. Jessup.”

“Oh, sure Bye, Rach.”

Quinn darted out into the hallway, heading for the choir room but Rachel wasn’t there. She spent her entire lunch hour searching for her but she never found her. Rachel was really good at hiding because Quinn couldn’t find her anywhere. She looked everywhere but she had no luck. Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt panic grow. She needed to tell Rachel that she was terrific. That she would do wonderfully at NYADA. That she would have the world at her feet. She needed to do it.

\--------------------

After school, Rachel walked into the choir room, searching for Quinn but she hadn’t arrived yet. She had hoped that they could talk, that she could explain that she really hadn’t meant to hurt her. She had just wanted to make Quinn stop talking. It was so hard to be around her. Sometimes, she was torn between wanting to be her friend and getting so frustrated with her. But she hadn’t meant to say what she’d said. Of course, Quinn was quite possibly the most stubborn person on the planet. She probably wouldn’t listen to anything she had to say.

Finally, Quinn came into class, taking a seat next to Finn. She avoided even looking in Rachel’s direction and Rachel was sure that she would have to do some major groveling to get her to speak to her again. As she listened to Mr. Schue drone on about their songs for Regionals, an idea came to her mind. Before she had time to think, Rachel waved her hand wildly in the air, squealing when he called on her. “I- I made a mistake and I’d like to sing a song to apologize for what I’ve done. I know the person I hurt really likes this kind of music.”

“Well, okay, Quinn. I’m glad you‘re taking initiative.”

Rachel skipped to the front of the class, speaking quietly to Brad. Quinn always leaned towards Motown. Even though it didn’t really suit her own tastes, Rachel knew Quinn would probably like it. She took a deep breath and grinned when Quinn met her eyes as the music start. “Baby love, my baby love. Been missin’ ya, miss kissin’ ya.”

Rachel tried to hide her satisfaction as the song ended and Mr. Schue patted her on the back. Even though Quinn stuck her jaw out and acted put off, Rachel knew she’d liked the song. In fact, the other girl was waving her hand in the hair. “You know, I’m sorry to say, Quinn, I think you were a little sharp.”

“That was unnecessary, Rachel,” Mr. Schue reprimanded Quinn.

“It’s okay.” Rachel took her seat, making sure to kick Quinn’s chair, wiping off the pleased smirk she had on her face. Maybe Quinn was still a little angry.

\-----------------

Quinn followed Rachel out of the school after glee, unable to keep the smirk off her face. “You’re mad I said you were sharp, are you? I just couldn’t resist.”

“No, it’s fine.” Rachel looked over at Quinn as she leaned against her car. “I figured you were still mad about what I said this morning.”

“Oh.” Quinn looked away, avoiding Rachel’s eyes. “I- I kind of forgot about that. But you know, you’re probably right.”

“I wasn’t. I didn’t even mean it. I just wanted to make you be quiet. But you- you don’t deserve to be treated badly. I’m sorry, Quinn.” Rachel reached out and tipped Quinn’s chin up so that she could look in her eyes.

“I am, too. I shouldn’t have said anything. Your relationship is none of my business.”

Rachel kept her hand on Quinn’s face, stroking her cheek. “It is. Because of this switch. Plus, I know how you feel about it. I don’t need to keep talking to you when you’ve made it perfectly clear that you don’t like it.”

Quinn shook her head. “I don’t- I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I just think you’re made for better things than Ohio. I don’t want you to get stuck here.”

“I don’t, either. I’m preparing for my NYADA audition. I’m going to be great.”

“Do you really believe that?” Quinn asked. “Because I saw your notebook with your notes for your audition and I don’t really think you do.”

“What- why- why were you going through my stuff?”

“I didn’t mean to, I just happened to see it. And it’s bull, Rach. You are spectacular. You’re the most talented person I know. I think you can do anything you set your mind to. Why don’t you believe it?” Quinn asked, putting her hands on Rachel’s back.

Rachel stared at Quinn, panic spreading over her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I do believe it. I know I’m talented.”

Quinn pulled her even closer. It was so surreal to be looking at herself but talking to Rachel. She wanted to comfort her but she didn’t know how. “Then why are you so scared? Why are you clinging to Finn like you are?”

“I’m not.” Rachel pulled away, turning her back to Quinn. “What do you even know about it? It’s not as though you’re an expert in relationships.”

“No kidding but I know that love is not supposed to make you feel bad. You and Finn just make each into the worst version of yourselves.”

“Screw you, Quinn! What do you know about love? Your mom’s going out with your dad even though he kicked you out. What kind of love that?”

“What do you know about my mom?” Quinn demanded.

“She mentioned it at dinner last night. Why don’t you get back to me when you have parents who actually care about you!” Rachel slapped her hands over her mouth. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

“You say that but you keep saying things you don’t mean. Maybe you actually do. Maybe you’re saying what you really mean.” Quinn stepped back. “Whatever. I don’t care. I’m not going to listen to someone who’s going to end up stuck in this town, married with kids and absolutely miserable.”

Rachel’s eyes filled with tears. She was hurt by Quinn’s words but she knew Quinn was just trying to hurt her back. “I- I think I should go. Maybe we shouldn’t talk anymore.”

“You’re probably right.” Quinn opened the door to Rachel’s car and looked over at Rachel. “You didn’t take my car today. Do you want a ride?”

“I thought we said-”

“We don’t have to talk. Besides, it’s a long way to walk to my house.” Quinn started the car and waited for Rachel to get in.

Rachel kept her mouth shut as Quinn drove. Even though she’d said they shouldn’t talk, she still had the urge to say something. She and Quinn just seemed to just be waiting for a reason to fight. Everything they said led to an argument. She didn’t want to fight with her but she just couldn’t help herself. Finally, Quinn pulled up to her house. She started to get out when a quiet voice stopped her. “Rachel, wait.”

“What?” Rachel asked, risking a glance at Quinn who was staring at the steering wheel.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to fight with you. I keep telling myself to let it go but I- I want you to have the life you want.” Quinn shrugged, looking over at Rachel. “I just want you to be happy. And sometimes, I just have to say something. But I’ll stop. I won’t butt my nose into your business anymore.”

“Will you come in? Your mom’s gone until late tonight. We can try talking without losing our tempers. And I’ll have time to properly apologize for my awful behavior,” Rachel pleaded. She really needed Quinn to give her the chance to explain.

“Okay.” Quinn turned off the car and followed Rachel into the house and up to her room. “Nice room. I like what you’ve done to the place.”

Rachel giggled, recognizing Quinn’s attempt to break the tension between them. “Cute.”

“Hey, after the clothes you wore today, I half expected you to redecorate my room.”

“I never thought of that but that’s a great idea!” Rachel sat down at the end of the bed, waiting for Quinn to do the same. “So, um, I guess I’ll start. I know I keep apologizing but I really am sorry. I wanted you to stop talking but I was out of line to talk about your parents. It was unnecessary.”

“Hey, it’s not like you said anything that’s untrue.” Quinn tried to laugh but it came out in a half sob. “I mean, come on. My mom’s counting the days until I leave for college.”

“That’s not true. She loves you.”

“Not as much as she loves my dad. I’m assuming she mentioned him moving back in.”

Rachel nodded reluctantly. “But she said not until you go to school.”

“Yeah. That’s supposed to make me feel like she gives a crap but all it does is let me know that he’s still more important than me.” Quinn pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, resting her head.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Rachel crawled to Quinn’s side of the bed, pausing a moment before wrapping her arms around Quinn. “Listen, your parents are insane. You are so wonderful. You’re beautiful and clever and kind. You got into Yale! Why wouldn’t they be proud of you?”

“I don’t know.” Quinn buried her face into Rachel’s neck. “I haven’t been that good of a person. I mean, I spent years torturing you. Even now, I say mean things to you. Maybe I deserve the way my parents treat me.”

“Hey, no.” Rachel pulled back so that she could look into Quinn’s eyes. “Parents are supposed to love you no matter what. And- and you- How were you supposed to learn how to treat people with parents like yours?”

Quinn sniffed and shook her head. “I think that’s just an excuse for me to treat people badly. I don’t want to be like them.”

“You’re not. If you were, you wouldn’t care that you hurt my feelings.” Rachel smiled. “You wouldn’t care about my future.”

“I think you always think the best of me.” Quinn rolled her eyes. “You’ve always given me more credit than I really deserve.”

Rachel palmed Quinn’s cheek, forcing her to look at her. “Or maybe I’ve just seen who you can really be. I know you’re a good person, Quinn. I wish you knew that, too.”

Quinn gazed at Rachel, trying to figure out why she cared so much. Why she always cared so much. No one else in her life had ever spoke to her like that before. She didn’t understand it. She wanted so much to be able to see herself the way Rachel did but she couldn’t. All she could see were her flaws. All the mistakes she kept making. She tried but she still ended up hurting people, hurting Rachel specifically. “I don’t know what to say to you. I don’t believe you. I screw up all the time.”

“Everyone does. I do. Are you forgetting how I got suspended a few months ago?” Rachel stroked Quinn’s cheek, keeping their eyes locked on each other.

“You were trying to help Kurt. That’s hardly a horrible crime.” Quinn snorted.

“But it wasn’t unselfish, either. I- I was scared of being alone in New York. I wanted to give Kurt a better chance of getting into NYADA.”

“You’re crazy.” Quinn smiled fondly at Rachel, taking her hands in her own. “You don’t need anyone with you in New York. You made it through years of bullying here. It was all preparation to toughen you up. At least in New York you won’t get slushies thrown in your face. You can do it, Rachel. I know you’re ready.”

“You’re sweet but I don’t know if I believe you.” Rachel blinked back tears at Quinn’s words. For a long time, she’d been feeling alone with her fears. She had no one to talk to about them. It’s not like Finn would understand. He thought that since she knew what she wanted to do with her life, she had no other problems. She didn’t want to make his life harder, so she just kept how scared she was to herself. But now, someone cared about her. It was almost more than she could take.

“Hey, don’t cry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” Quinn squeezed Rachel’s hands.

“Sorry. I just can’t help myself.”

“How about we make a deal? You try to believe me when I say you’ll be okay in New York and I’ll try to believe you when you say I’m a good person.”

Rachel laughed, launching herself at Quinn and throwing her arms around her. “That- that sounds really good.”

“Yeah.” Quinn sighed, squeezing her own arms around Rachel. This felt good. Really good. She had never felt content like this in someone else’s arms before. Whenever Sam or Finn or any other boy embraced her, she felt suffocated. But not with Rachel. And she liked this feeling. A lot.

“You’re so smart, Quinn.” Rachel pulled Quinn even closer, settling the other girl into the crook of her neck. She couldn’t get enough of her. She couldn’t get her close enough. “You’re so good to me.”

“Not always.” Quinn lifted her head up. “I need to apologize to you.”

“You already did.”

“Not for the past couple of days.” Quinn put her hands on Rachel’s waist. “I- I never apologized to you for all the stuff I used to say to you. The names I called you, the slushies. I really am sorry. You didn’t deserve any of that.”

Rachel shook her head. “You don’t-”

“Yes, I do. I never have and you never asked me to. But I should. I was awful to you.” Quinn paused, biting her lip and trying to figure out exactly what she wanted to say. “As preposterous as it sounds, I felt insecure and I needed a target that would make me feel better about myself. You- you were easy to pick on. But I’m sorry. I’m just sorry.”

“I forgive you.” Rachel wiped her eyes as she considered Quinn’s words. She had friends now, she had a boyfriend, she wasn’t as lonely as she used to be. But inside, there was a part of her who was still the isolated little girl with nobody but her dads. And that tiny little part grew warm as she listened to Quinn’s apology. She’d put her past behind her but she was glad that Quinn realized she deserved an apology.

“You don’t have to. That’s not why I said it.” Quinn reached out and wiped Rachel’s tears away. “Please don’t cry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“It’s okay. I just- Thank you.” Rachel managed a small smile through her tears.

“You shouldn’t thank someone for saying sorry. Particularly when you deserve so much more than just an apology.”

“Maybe I do. But you’re one of the few of my bullies who actually is sorry.” Rachel pulled Quinn close once again. “I like having you next to me.”

“I like being here.” Quinn snuggled even closer to her. “Even if it’s strange being smaller than you.”

“I like it. I never get to be the bigger person. It makes me feel strong.” Rachel giggled. “That sounds a little silly.”

Quinn giggled, too, happy that Rachel was happy. It was amazing how good it felt to be sweet to another person. Not just another person, to Rachel. She wanted to make her happy. No matter what it took, she would try to always keep her happy. Maybe that would make it easier to be nice to Finn if she thought of it as being nice to Rachel. “This whole thing is crazy but I’m glad I’m here. I’m glad we’re getting closer.”

“Me, too.” Rachel ran her hand through Quinn’s hair. “I always wanted us to be friends. Real friends, not just because of Glee.”

“That sounds nice.” Quinn glanced down at her watch. “Whoa. I’d better be going. My mom will be home from work soon. I don’t want to run into her.”

“Don’t you want to see her?” Rachel asked as they stood up, taking the time to put a little distance put them. It was getting a little intense.

“I- yeah but she’ll know something is wrong if she sees us together. I don’t know if I can pretend she’s not my mom, you know?”

Rachel nodded. “That makes sense.”

As they reached the front door, Quinn turned back to look at Rachel. “I- I’m pleased we talked. I think we’ll get along better now.”

“I do, too.” Rachel hugged Quinn to her, holding her a little too long. She just couldn’t help herself. Sometimes, she just needed to touch Quinn.

Quinn closed her eyes. It felt really nice to be held like this. To have Rachel’s arms around her. It made her feel safe. A part of her wondered if it was because Rachel was in her body right now but she didn’t think so. Rachel always had the ability to brighten her day. She just never let her. Finally, Quinn let go. She smiled and leaned up to press a kiss to Rachel’s cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye.” Rachel shut the door after Quinn left and fell back against it. She felt like singing. And, yes, she normally felt like singing but she wanted to sing about Quinn. About the energy she felt running through her. She couldn’t wait until the next day when she could see Quinn once again.

\------------------

Quinn stood in front of Rachel’s full length mirror, gaping at the image she saw. She felt slightly like a pervert but she couldn’t stop admiring Rachel’s body. The first few days after the switch, she’d forced herself to get dressed quickly. She’d ignored the peculiar urge she felt to stare at every inch of Rachel’s body. But this morning, she just couldn’t stop herself. Rachel had a non-existent belly with nice abs. The legs that had always seemed longer than they had any right to be. She ran her hands along them, groaning at how good that touch felt. And her breasts- Quinn tightened her hands into fists so she didn’t molest Rachel. Turning around, she managed to sneak a peek at that perfect butt when her phone went off. She picked it up, looking around guiltily, like Kurt could tell what she’d been doing. She listened to Kurt as she pulled on her clothes and then hung up, sending Rachel a text to let her know she couldn’t meet before school. She had to hurry to meet Kurt. He said it was an emergency.

\-----------------

Rachel waited inside the choir room impatiently, wondering where Quinn and Kurt were. She had received a text from Quinn a while after her first one telling her to go to the choir room. And so had everyone else. But Quinn and Kurt were nowhere to be find. After what seemed like forever, the frazzled-looking pair rushed in. “What happened?”

Kurt sighed. “It’s the end of the world as we know it.”

Quinn rolled her eyes, forgetting that she needed to act like Rachel. “Calm down, Drama Queen. It’s bad but it’s not a catastrophe.”

“What happened? Are you okay?” Finn went over to them, trying to hold Quinn’s hand.

“Yeah, we’re fine. Kurt got a call from that weasel head Warbler Sebastian. He’s trying to blackmail us. If I sing at Regionals, he’s going to…” Quinn trailed off, dreading the conversation that was about to happen.

“What?” Rachel asked, worrying over how upset Quinn was.

“He’s going to release some photoshopped pictures of Finn to the Internet.” Quinn handed the pictures over to Finn.

“Oh, God. This- this isn’t even me! It‘s just my head.” Finn pointed at the pictures.

“Yeah, hence the photoshop,” Quinn said under her breath, ignoring the look Rachel shot her. “I know it’s bad but it’s not really you. I don’t think we should freak out over this.”

“What, are you saying you’re going to sing anyway?” Finn asked as the rest of the Glee kids tried to hide their snickers at the pictures.

“I’m not saying that. I’m saying we should think about what we should do.” Quinn ground her teeth, trying to keep her temper under control. The minute Sebastian showed them the pictures, she’d known this would happen. Finn would want Rachel to give up her solo at Regionals. And she couldn’t let that happen.

“What’s to think about? You can’t sing! I’ll look like a fool.”

“I happen to think these are an improvement over how you normally look.” Santana laughed. “I mean, you’re bigger at least.”

“Not helping, Santana,” Rachel said before turning to Finn. “There’s got to be something we can do so he doesn’t post these.”

“Shut up, Quinn. This is none of your business.”

“Hey. Lay off her, she’s just trying to help.” Quinn stepped between Rachel and Finn, hoping to take the brunt of his anger.

Finn shook his head furiously. “I don’t care. You- you can’t sing. This would be totally embarrassing for me. You can’t.”

“What about NYADA? I need to have every opportunity I can to show them what I can do. Please, Finn, we can figure something out.” Quinn made herself reach out and take his hands, cringing inside as she did so. She couldn’t back down from this. Rachel needed this. She couldn’t let her lose her solo.

“No. We can’t risk it,” Finn said stubbornly.

“I- I want to sing, Finn. I need to.” A feeling of dread started to fill Quinn. She knew how this was going to end and it wasn’t going to be good.

“Then you don’t need me.”

“What are you saying?” Rachel asked, the color draining from her face. He couldn’t really be saying what she thought he was. She thought he’d support her. She thought he wanted her to get into NYADA.

Finn rubbed his hands over his face before looking Quinn straight in the eyes. “I’m saying if you do this, Rach, we’re done. We’re not getting married.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah, okay. Great. Someone else can sing your solo.”

“No.” Quinn shook her head. “We’re done.”

“What?” The relieved smile fell from Finn’s face. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do.” Quinn slid the ring off her finger. “I’m not going to give up my future for someone who doesn’t care about me.”

“You’re the one who doesn’t care about me. You care about some stupid school!”

“No! I tried to figure something out but you don’t want to hear it. You just care about yourself. Well, fine. Here.” Quinn handed the ring to Finn and turned to look at Rachel. Seeing the anguish on her face made her realized what she’d done. She bolted from the room, ignoring the gossip behind her and Rachel’s voice calling after her.

Quinn collapsed into a chair in an empty classroom. She rested her head on a desk. What was she going to do? Rachel would be furious. She’d looked so upset. She hadn’t meant to break up with Finn. As much as she thought he wasn’t good for Rachel, she knew the other girl loved him. The words just flew out of her mouth before she could stop herself. She just made a promise to herself to be good to Rachel and now she’d blown it. Rachel wasn’t going to forgive her for that.

“Hey. Are you okay?” Rachel hurried in after Quinn. She had taken off before Rachel had a moment to talk to her. She’d seemed so flustered while she’d argued with Finn. Rachel wanted to make sure she was all right.

“I’m fine.” Quinn turned to Rachel, hoping she could hide how upset she was.

“No, you’re not.” Rachel sat down next to her, cupping Quinn’s face in her hands. There were tears in her eyes. She looked a mess. “Why are you crying?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to break up with him, he was just being impossible. I- I didn’t- I know you love him. I- I’ll go to him and grovel and things will be okay.” Quinn’s rambling was stopped short by Rachel’s finger on her lips.

“Stop. I’m not mad at you. You- you did what had to be done. I- I can’t be with someone who doesn’t care about my future.” Rachel shook her head, slightly bemused as a smile came across Quinn’s face. “Isn’t that what wanted from me? To put my future ahead of Finn?”

Quinn nodded. “Mmmhmm. But I know how much you love him. You didn’t want to break up with him. Not like this.”

“No but- but he wasn’t even thinking of me. I wasn’t important to him at all. So, how could I possibly think of staying with him? I promise, I’m not angry. Not at all. That had to happen.” Rachel shrugged. “I just wish you hadn’t been in the middle of it.”

“Me, too.” Quinn glanced up at the ceiling, trying to collect her thoughts. She was glad Rachel didn’t seemed to be upset but this all seemed too easy. “I swear I was trying to keep my mouth shut. I didn’t want this to happen.”

Rachel embraced her, pulling Quinn’s body close to her own. “Don’t keep apologizing. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Quinn smiled tightly, tilting her head to look at Rachel. “Okay. I- I still want to fix this.”

“You don’t have to. You-”

“No, just listen. It’s not just about Finn. It’s about the jerk, Sebastian. I don’t want to let him get away with this.” Quinn growled, her arms tightening on Rachel.

“What do you mean?” Rachel asked, rubbing Quinn’s back and trying to calm her down.

Quinn scoffed. “He’s a spoiled little rich boy who’s used to getting his own way. Now, he’s trying to blackmail us so he can win. No. It’s not going to happen.”

“Wow. You’re kind of hot when you’re all riled up like this.” Rachel turned red as she realized what she’d just said.

“You’re just saying that because I look like you.” Quinn smirked.

“Maybe.” Rachel let go of Quinn and stepped back, trying to calm her racing heart.

“Hey, Q, Berry. You guys plotting? ‘Cause Britt and I are in.” Santana came into the room with Brittany. “Everyone else wants to let Mr. Schue handle it but, no. He’ll just end up making us have a sing off right before Regionals. This requires some hardcore scheming. I figure between the four of us, we can come up with something good.”

“Yeah, well, good. Rach- Quinn and I haven’t come up with anything quite yet.” Quinn stumbled over her words, hoping Santana hadn’t noticed.

“Still crying over the Jolly Green Giant? Don’t worry, he’s still so freaked out over someone seeing his photoshopped junk that it hasn’t hit him that he dumped. Of course, I’m still amazed that you actually stood up for yourself. Way to go.”

“Stop it. That’s not helping. This isn’t about Finn.” Quinn walked over to Santana and kicked her lightly. “Knock it off.”

“Watch it, Hobbit. Just because we both want to take down the Head Douche Warbler doesn’t mean I won’t go all Lima Heights.” Santana shoved Rachel’s shoulder, wondering why she was so willing to stand up to her.

“Hey, don’t. We’re supposed to be getting revenge. Santana, you promised I could be a part of the honey plot,” Brittany whined. “That new costume we got at the handcuff store would be perfect to seduce someone.”

“Do you know what you’re suggesting?” Rachel asked, a mystified look on her face.

“Watch it, Fabray.” Santana grabbed her by the front of her shirt. “I don’t like what you’re implying here.”

“Relax.” Quinn rushed over, pushing her way in between them. She’d really have to talk to Rachel about staying on Santana’s good side. It would do no good to piss her off. “Let’s just figure out what we’re going to do.”

“Fine.” Santana sat down at a desk and pulled out a notebook. “I came up with a few ideas while everyone was arguing. Only a few of them involve fire.”

Quinn rolled her eyes. “Nice. Let’s get this done.”  
\--------  
Rachel tucked herself into a corner, watching as Brittany sweet talked Sebastian’s roommate. It was all part of their plan but she couldn’t believe Santana wasn’t flipping out. She usually punched anyone who got too close to Brittany. Of course, Santana and Quinn were busy distracting Sebastian so Rachel was watching all by herself. When Brittany and the boy left the room, Rachel sneaked in, finding Sebastian’s computer. She needed to delete the pictures and find any flash drives he might be hiding them on. And she needed to do it quickly before she was caught. Her eyes widened when she realized that he didn’t password protect his computer. This would be easier than she thought.

\-----------------

“Are you sure we should leave Ra- Quinn by herself? What if she gets caught?” Quinn asked anxiously as she and Santana waited for Sebastian to show up. They’d texted him to meet and they were completely alone but she could help but worry for Rachel.

“Oh, what do you care?”

“Santana, come on.”

Santana sighed impatiently. “Quinn is tough. She can handle herself. She survived Coach Sylvester, she can survive any random warbler who happens to catch her.”

“I guess.” Quinn chewed on her lip before elbowing Santana. “There he is.”

“Perfect.” Santana crossed the room, Quinn close behind her. “Let’s get this over with. We don’t want to be here anymore than you want us here.”

“Sure. But first, I’m going to have to check you for wires.” Sebastian leered.

“Oh, skip it. I’m not stupid enough to try the same thing twice.” Santana glared at him.

“Why are you here? You come to give in and say your precious boyfriend’s honor?” Sebastian asked. “That’s sweet, Rachel.”

Quinn rolled her eyes. “No, I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction. We came to ask you to do the right thing and give us the pictures.”

Sebastian laughed. “You can’t be serious. That’s not going to happen.”

“We figured as much. But we had to ask.” Quinn tapped her foot rapidly. They didn’t think this out. How in the world did they expect to stall long enough to let Rachel do what she need to do? She could not let her get caught.

“The answer’s no. Why don’t you go on your way?”

Santana narrowed her eyes. “We’ll leave when we’re ready. We’re not done yet.”

“I don’t know what you expect to accomplish. I’m going to release those pictures and you can’t do anything to stop me.” Sebastian grinned. “And the Warblers will go to Nationals while you remain losers.”

“Why do you even want Ra- me out of the competition? Don’t you want to know you can beat us fairly?” Quinn asked, genuinely interested in his answer. Instead of spending all his time plotting, he could be rehearsing. It didn’t make sense that he was doing this.

“That’s adorable but no. I want to win. I don’t want to leave anything to chance and much as it kills me to admit, you’re great, Berry. Without you, the rest of those losers won’t be able to beat us.” Sebastian smirked at Santana glowering face. “Calm down. You’re pretty good yourself, Lopez. If you’re into oversexed lesbians who try too hard.”

“Why don’t you shut up?” Santana charged at him, stopped only by Quinn grabbing her waist. “Let me go, Rachel. This guy needs a beating.”

“And you’re the one to give it to me.” Sebastian laughed heartily, slapping his leg. “Give it up, Ladies. I’ve won. You aren’t going to beat me.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Rachel strolled into the room, a grin on her face.

“What are you so happy about, Ms. I-tried-to-steal-a-baby?” Sebastian sneered at the surprise on her face. “Yeah, I do my homework on the enemy, Fabray. Now, how exactly do you think you’re going to stop me from posting those pictures?”

“Well, it’s pretty hard to post pictures you don’t have.”

“What are you talking about? I have them on a flash drive in my room.”

Rachel laughed and tossed it up in the air. “Oh, you mean this one? You don’t have the pictures anymore. I’m shocked you didn’t make duplicates. Sloppy work.”

Panic flashed over Sebastian’s face before he schooled his features. “How do you know I didn’t? There could be plenty of copies.”

“Maybe but I didn’t find any in your room or on your computer.” Rachel grinned as Sebastian lost some of his cockiness. “And the look on your face tells me you didn’t make any duplicates of them. So, you’re out of luck.”

“No. No, you can’t do that. You can’t just go into my room like that.” Sebastian growled. “It’s breaking and entering. I could call the cops.”

“You won’t.” Quinn cut in front of him, forcing his glare away from Rachel. “Because then everything else will come out. You don’t want that, do you?”

“Yeah, your lawyer daddy wouldn’t be too happy to find out about your skills with photoshop, would he?” Santana cackled, standing next to Quinn.

“You stupid bitches.” Sebastian shoved past Quinn, grabbing a hold of Rachel’s dress. “Give me the damn pictures.”

Quinn rushed over and kicked him in the ankle. “Let go of her. This is your fault.”

“No. I’m not letting you leave.” Sebastian shook Rachel.

“She’s not a piñata. You can’t shake the pictures out of her.” Santana came over to help, shoving Sebastian as hard as she could.

“Don’t hurt her!” Quinn punched him in his side, desperate to get him away from Rachel. This was her worst nightmare. She couldn’t let Rachel get hurt. She couldn’t take it if she did. She didn’t care about the pictures or Finn or Regionals. She just wanted Rachel safe.

“Hey, man. Back up.” A shaggy-haired Warbler came into the room, pulling Sebastian off Rachel. “What’s going on? Have you lost it?”

“She broke into our room! She stole a flash drive. Where the hell were you anyway? You were supposed to be in there, Marcus. Why did you leave?” Sebastian wrenched himself free, but stayed in place.

“Oh! I met this girl. She let me stare at her legs.” Marcus grinned. “It was awesome.”

“You ruined our chances at Regionals because of a girl? Are you crazy?”

Santana laughed. “This was fun but we have get going. Marcus, I hope you enjoyed looking at my girlfriend ‘cause that’s not going to happen again.”

“Stay away from us.” Quinn scowled at Sebastian before grabbing Rachel’s hand and leading her away.

“I’m going to go find Britt. Meet us at my car.” Santana took off down the hallway.

“Okay,” Rachel said quietly as she allowed Quinn to lead her away. “Are you all right? Did something happen before I got here? Did he hurt you?”

“No. No. But I thought he was going to hurt you.” Quinn embraced Rachel, tucking herself tightly against her body. “I was so scared when he grabbed you.”

“I’m okay. He- he didn’t hurt me.” Rachel rubbed Quinn’s back. “Nothing happened and we got those pictures. Everything’s okay.”

“Screw the pictures. You could’ve been hurt.” Quinn looked up into Rachel’s eyes. “I couldn’t take it if you were hurt.”

Rachel gazed down at Quinn’s eyes, awed at the distress she saw there. She’d never dreamed Quinn would look at her like that. Her stomach was turning over and she didn’t think it was because of the stress of this situation. “I-”

“Hey, Ladies. Nice work.” Santana walked up to them, Brittany right next to her. “We are geniuses. Everyone should kiss our asses for saving them while they argued.”

“The rest of us really didn’t do anything. Quinn was the one how had to sneak into Sebastian’s room.” Quinn kept her eyes on Rachel, even as they pulled their bodies away to an acceptable distance. She couldn’t make herself stop staring at her.

“Way to down play, Berry.” Santana punched Quinn’s shoulder lightly. “But you’re pretty tough shit. The way you went after the head douche bag was bad ass.”

Quinn shrugged. “Whatever. It was no big deal. I just wanted to make sure she was okay.”

“We all did good.” Brittany wrapped her arms around Rachel and squeezed. “And Rachel’s right. You did the hard work, Quinn.”

“I just did what your guys told me to do.” Rachel shivered under Brittany’s scrutiny. “What? Why are you staring at me?”

Brittany narrowed her eyes as she looked at Rachel. “You seem different.”

“Wh-what- what do you mean?” Rachel shot a look over at Quinn who looked back with wide panicked eyes.

“You don’t seem like yourself.” Brittany gripped Rachel’s face in her hands, staring directly into her eyes. “I think you might be possessed by a spirit.”

Quinn let out a choke sound. She tried to cover it up by laughing. “Ha. That’s- that’s funny. Britt. Nice joke.”

“I’m not joking.” Brittany spun around to gesture at Santana. “Come and look, San. I’m sure Quinn’s possessed.”

Santana slung her arm around Brittany and pulled her away. “I’ve always thought Quinn was controlled by an evil spirit.”

“San!” Brittany whined.

“We’ll figure it out later. Let’s get back to school and tell everyone we’re awesome.” Santana pointed at her car. “Berry, you and the demon hop in the back.”

Rachel and Quinn rolled their eyes but shared a sigh of relief as they got in the car. That was a close one. And of course it was Brittany who would figure them out.

\-------------------

“And Berry swiped the USB with all the pictures on it,” Santana finished with a smirk on her face. “So Tubby’s virtue is safe.”

Mr. Schuester frowned. “I’m glad you guys got the pictures but I don’t approve of how you did it. You could have gotten in trouble and that would have hurt the rest of the club.”

Quinn rolled her eyes. “I didn’t see you coming up with any ideas.”

“Rachel!” Mr. Schuester shook his head, his jaw dropping in shock at her harsh tone. “What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Rachel butt in, stepping closer to Quinn. “We saved the day. Finn’s reputation is protected. We have more important things to be worried about right now.”

“All right. I’m going to let you go for now. Be prepared to work on your numbers for Regionals tomorrow.” Mr. Schuester dismissed them and everyone started gathering their things.

Finn walked over to Quinn. “Hey, Rach? Can we talk?”

“I don’t see what you think you have to talk about. Things were made pretty clear before.” Rachel slipped her hand into Quinn’s and squeezed.

“This is none of your business. This is between me and Rachel.” Finn pushed his way between them, taking Quinn’s hand in his own. “Please, Baby. Take the ring back. We- we can still get married. Things are okay now.”

Quinn shook her head. “No way. Are you crazy? Why do you think we can just go back to how things were?”

“You got the pictures. Nothing’s wrong now.”

“Of course you think that,” Quinn muttered under her breath before meeting Finn’s eyes. “No. You wanted to me to sacrifice my future for your ego. You didn’t even try to come up with a different solution. I can’t give up my life for you.”

“Rachel, please. I love you.”

“No, you don’t,” Rachel said, her eyes blazing.

“Stay out of it, Quinn,” Finn snapped.

“Don’t talk to her like that.” Quinn yanked her hands away and shoved him hard in the chest. “She doesn’t deserve that.”

“It’s okay.” Rachel placed a hand on Quinn’s back, hoping to calm her down.

“See? Even she knows this has nothing to do with her.” Finn regained his balance and tried to come closer.

Quinn drew in a breath, trying recover her composure. It would do nobody any good if she hauled off and beat the crap out of Finn. She glanced over at Rachel and shrugged her shoulders, hoping to get any idea of what she wanted her to do. She looked back at Finn and exhaled loudly. “Look, I don’t want this to turn into a big thing. But- but we’re not ready to get married. The pictures- they were just an excuse. Let’s just end this and be civil. I don’t want us to hate each other.”

“No! I- Why did you go get those pictures if it wasn’t for me?” Finn demanded. “If it wasn’t because you wanted to marry me?”

“Because what Sebastian did wasn’t right,” Quinn said quietly. She met Rachel’s eyes once again. “But we don’t belong together.”

“Quit looking at her.” Finn spun around to glare at Rachel. “Why are you turning her against me? I know you didn’t want us to get married but just leave us alone.”

“I’m not trying to hurt you but you aren’t listening to her. What she said was right.”

“Just shut up!”

“No. You and I- You guys shouldn’t be married. She shouldn’t have to worry over every little thing. What are you going to do when she has to kiss another guy in a play? Are you going to insist she quit? It just won’t work. You don’t work,” Rachel burst out, saying some of the things she’d tried to push out of her mind the past few months.

Finn stood up straighter, looming over Rachel. “Quinn, I’m telling you to shut up.”

“Stop it, Finn.” Quinn put herself in between them. She didn’t really think Finn would ever hit a woman but she wasn’t going to give him a chance to. “I’m sorry about all this but it’s over. It is. Please don’t make it harder than it needs to be.”

“I- I can’t believe this.” Finn rubbed his hands over his face before turning and storming out of the room.

“Oh, God.” Quinn threw her arms around Rachel once again.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Rachel murmured. “He didn’t touch me.”

“He could have.” Quinn buried her face in Rachel’s neck, breathing deeply. Her heart had stopped when Finn had loomed over Rachel. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, okay? I needed to say that to him, even if he didn’t know it was me that was saying it.” Rachel smiled fondly at Quinn. It felt nice to be in her arms, like she was home. She’d never felt so protected in her life.

“God, you two can’t keep your hands off each other today, huh?” Santana came back into the choir room. “Is that why the Jolly White Giant stormed out of here like someone stole his morning donuts?”

“Shut up, Santana,” Quinn snapped, resentful of the reminder of Finn.

“Please, don’t.” Rachel looked pleadingly at Santana. As much as that conversation needed to happen, it still took a lot out of her. Between saying what she needed to say and trying to still be Quinn, she was completely wiped out. She wasn’t in the mood for a confrontation with Santana. Plus, Quinn was so protective that she might actually slap Santana. “She made it clear that it’s over between them. I don’t think she wants to talk about it anymore.”

“Fine, fine.” Santana slapped Quinn playfully on the back. “You did good, Hobbit. And you deserve better than Hudson. And, I’ll never repeat this, you deserve that solo Mr. Schue gave you for Regionals. You’re a fantastic singer.”

“What?” All the color drained from Quinn’s face. Rachel’s solo. That Rachel would have to sing at Regionals. And she was Rachel right now.

“Yeah, I’m not repeating that. I’ll see you guys later.”

“Bye.” Rachel waited for Santana to leave before looking at Quinn. “Are you all right? What’s wrong?”

“I- I-” Quinn glanced wildly around the room. “We can’t talk here.”

“Okay. I’ll take you home.”

\-------------------------

Rachel followed Quinn through her house and up the stairs to her childhood bedroom. It was weird being in the house but not being herself. She was glad her dads were still at work. She missed them but she didn’t know how to act around them. It wasn’t like she could hug them. Quinn would probably kill her if she didn‘t act like she did. If she ever got over this catatonic state she seemed to have slipped into. Rachel watched as Quinn sat on her bed and looked up at her with scared eyes. “I can’t do it, Rach.”

“Do what?” Rachel asked, sitting down next to her.

“Regionals. I can’t sing your solo. I- I thought we’d be fixed back by then but what if we’re not? I can’t, Rachel. I’d be horrible.”

“Oh. I- I hadn’t thought of that, either.” Rachel felt a pang in her heart at not singing but she pushed that away so that she could comfort Quinn. “You sang with Sam last year.”

“There was two of us. Plus, it was me. I wasn’t expected to be spectacular like you.” Quinn shook her head. “I’m not you.”

“But it’s okay. We’ll rehearse and you’ll be awesome.” Rachel slipped her arm into Quinn’s and leaned against her. “I know you can do it.”

“ I don’t know. Do you really think I can do it?” Quinn asked.

“I do. Besides, you’ve got my vocal range right now so you’ll be fine.” Rachel laughed and poked Quinn in the side until she laughed, too.

The two of them rested against each other in silence. Quinn hesitated to bring up a serious topic after talking about Regionals but she couldn’t help herself. The thought just came to mind and she had to know if Rachel was worried, too. “Rach? What if we don’t switch back? What if we’re stuck like this forever?”

“I- I haven’t really thought about it.” Rachel mulled over the thought for a minute. “I guess we’d just have to go on with our lives.”

“You mean pretend to be each other forever? How would that work?”

Rachel shook her head. “I’m thinking out loud here, Quinn. I don’t know how it would work. But we wouldn’t pretend to be each other. We’d have to be ourselves. Just in each other’s body. Even though that sounds really weird.”

“What about Yale? NYADA? And our parents? We’d never talk to them again?” Quinn’s mind spun with possibilities. As awkward as it was with her mother, she couldn’t imagine never speaking to her again. She loved her.

“No. I- I don’t know.” Tears filled Rachel’s eyes. The last few days had been hard without her dads. She’d tried telling herself that it was just like when they went out of town on business, and that worked a little. But never feeling them hug her and call her their little girl again? She didn’t know if she could handle that.

“I didn’t mean to upset you.” Quinn pulled Rachel to her, squeezing her as tight as she could. “I’m just so confused.”

“Me, too. I never expected this to happen.” Rachel closed her eyes, sinking into Quinn’s embrace. As difficult as this was, it was nice to know she wasn’t alone. At least she had Quinn. They could do this together.

After a few minutes, Quinn pulled back, bringing her hands to Rachel’s face and wiping away her tears. “You know, Yale’s a pretty good school.”

Rachel furrowed her brow, unsure of what Quinn meant. She knew Yale was a good school. She was so proud of Quinn for being accepted there. Why- Oh. “It is. And so is NYADA. You’ll get good training there.”

“Maybe- maybe it won’t be exactly what you want but you could still be on Broadway, Rach. Even with my mediocre voice,” Quinn teased, willing Rachel to smile back.

“You’re good, Quinn. But I could make you better.” Rachel brightened considerably. “Plus, you’re conventionally pretty. I bet I’ll have an easier time at auditions. My work ethic and your body? I’d be unstoppable.”

“You’re beautiful, Rachel.”

“You don’t have-”

“Stop.” Quinn placed a finger over Rachel’s lips. “I’m not just saying that. I- I know I’m a big part of why you don’t think so but you are so, so beautiful. I don’t know if I can express how beautiful I think you are. I’m not good with words like you are.”

“Quinn,” Rachel choked out as more tears came.

“Shh. Let me finish.” Quinn took a breath. She couldn’t believe she was actually saying this. She’d been thinking about Rachel for longer than she could even remember but she’d never imagined actually telling her how she’d felt. “You’re wonderful. I just want to stare at you all the time.”

Rachel rolled her eyes and pulled away. “Stop it. You’re just saying that.”

Quinn heaved out a large breath. “Look, just listen to me. I’m going to tell you something highly embarrassing. You can’t tell anyone else.”

“What?” Rachel looked at her. Quinn’s were darting away and she wouldn’t make eye contact. “What are you talking about?”

“This morning- Kurt called to tell me to meet Sebastian and I was- I was looking.”

“Looking at what?”

“At you. I was getting dressed and I stopped to look at you. And your body. You’re gorgeous, Rachel.” Quinn blushed furiously as Rachel’s jaw dropped. “I know it’s totally inappropriate but I couldn’t help myself.”

“You looked at me? Really?”

Quinn nodded, still avoiding looking at Rachel. “I- I think maybe I’ve been attracted to you for a longer than I’ve realized.”

“Quinn? Are you-” Rachel stopped, not wanting push Quinn too much.

“I don’t know.” Quinn shook her head with a scoff. “All I know is looking at you this morning- I wanted to touch you.”

“Touch? You mean-”

“No, no. I would never to that do you. I would never want to hurt you.” Quinn stared down at the floor. “But I really wanted. And I did touch your legs. You- you have really smooth skin, Rach.”

“I moisturize,” Rachel said absently, her mind reeling at Quinn’s words. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It didn’t bother her, it was just surprising. She would never in a million years have thought Quinn would think she’s attractive.

Quinn watched as Rachel stared off into space and knew she’d gone too far. She’d wanted to let Rachel know how beautiful she was but she just kept talking and now things were uncomfortable. “This is a mess. I should go home. Well, you should. This is my house. Well, it’s not my house, it’s yours but I look like you and-”

“Wow, you’re starting to sound like me. You’re rambling.” Rachel smiled, growing confident as Quinn fell apart. “It’s- I’m not angry. It’s flattering. I mean, I told you before that you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever met. The fact that you think I’m pretty? That’s amazing. It- it makes me feel good.”

“Yeah?” Quinn asked shyly, taking a peek at Rachel.

“Yeah. Besides, I have to admit I looked, too, when I got dressed. You really are beautiful inside and out.” Rachel laced her fingers together with Quinn’s.

“Thanks. Um, do you want to stay tonight?” Quinn asked before she lost her nerve. “We could work on the songs for Regionals. It might be fun.”

“It would be. But what about my dads?”

“I don’t think they’d mind, do you? Don’t you want to see them? Or would it be too weird? Do you think they’d notice?”

Rachel sighed. “No, if they haven’t noticed anything’s up with you, I think I could go one dinner without them figuring it out. And I really do miss them.”

“So you’ll stay?”

“I’ll stay.” Rachel grinned and wrapped her arms around Quinn.

\----------------------

Quinn paced nervously backstage, trying to avoid the other Glee kids. She just needed a few minutes of peace before she went out there. She knew she was prepared. She and Rachel had practiced a lot. Rachel had given her lots of tips to improve and she didn’t think she would embarrass herself. But she couldn’t relax. Maybe if she could talk to Rachel, she’d be able to but Rachel had avoided her since she’d opened her big fat mouth and told her she stared like a pervert at her body. If she needed help with a song, Rachel was there. But otherwise, she disappeared. And Quinn was a total mess. She had never realized how much she relied on Rachel until now. She really missed her. She just wanted her friend back. She couldn’t talk to anyone else like she could Rachel.

“Hey. You ready?” Rachel placed her arm around Quinn’s waist, startling her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m just in a blind panic.”

“You’ve got this. I’ve heard you sing. You’re ready, I’m sure.”

Quinn smiled faintly. “That’s only part of what I’m worried about.”

“Oh.” Rachel grimaced. “I’m sorry for staying away the past few days.”

“It’s okay. I made you uncomfortable. I understand.”

“No, it’s that.” Rachel stopped when Quinn rolled her eyes. “Well, it’s not all about that. I- You made me think, Quinn. Not just about you but about me and Finn. How could I possibly have married him? I mean, I- I’ve got these feelings for you and they won’t go away. But I don’t understand what it means.”

“Hey, it’s okay. We don’t have figure this out right away.” Quinn looked up at Rachel, starting to get used to being shorter than she was. “Just- just as long as we figure it out together. I- think I kind of need you.”

“I need you, too.” Rachel brushed a piece of hair out of Quinn’s face. “You’re the only one who really understands me right now.”

“Hey, quit making eyes at each other and get ready. We’re almost on.” Santana slapped Quinn on the back.

Rachel laughed and pulled back. “Let’s go. You can do this.”

“I hope so.”

“I know so.” Rachel grinned. “Break a leg.”

\-----------------

“Here’s to us, here’s to love, all the times that we messed up,” Quinn sang her heart out, growing more confident as she sang. It felt like she was born to do this. Being in Rachel’s body was giving her confidence she didn’t know she had. Plus, she could feel Rachel’s eyes on her and she could feel how proud she was. Nothing filled her up like knowing that Rachel was happy with her. She wanted to keep on doing this, making Rachel happy, forever. She wouldn’t cure cancer or solve the energy crisis, but she could make Rachel proud of her.

“You were wonderful.” Rachel grabbed Quinn as soon as she was done singing. “I told you that you could do it.”

“You helped me.” Quinn sank into her arms. “You made me better. You always make me better, Rach. Thank you so much.”

“I didn’t really do anything. You’re the one who sang in front of everyone.”

Santana pulled them apart. “Seriously, you guys have got to stop with touchy feely crap.”

Quinn rolled her eyes. “Nice, Santana.”

“Shut up and get off the stage. We’ve got to wait for them to announce how awesome we are.” Santana walked away and Rachel and Quinn followed.

\-----------------

Several hours later, Quinn and Rachel curled up on Rachel’s back porch, a blanket pulled over them and cups of hot chocolate in their hands. “You sure you don’t want to go celebrate with everyone else, Rach?”

“No. This is nice.” Rachel laid her head on Quinn’s shoulder, breathing in her scent. “I like spending time with you. Just the two of us.”

“We’ve done that a lot lately. I think people are starting to notice. Especially Santana.” Quinn twirled a piece of Rachel’s hair around her finger. She just couldn’t stop touching her, even though she knew she should probably put some distance between them.

Rachel laughed. “Yeah, Brittany cornered me before we left and asked if I needed her to take me to a priest for an exorcism.”

“Oh, God.”

“We can’t blame her. You are possessed by a spirit. I’m not evil but, still. I’m in your body.” Rachel shrieked when Quinn pinched her. “Hey! It’s just a joke!”

“It’s not funny. We’re going to be found out by Brittany. After all the trouble we’ve gone through to keep it secret. Doesn’t that scare you?” Quinn asked, genuinely curious at Rachel’s calm. Why wasn’t she freaking out?

“No. I- I guess I’ve gotten used to the fact that we can’t control this.” Rachel palmed Quinn’s cheek, hoping to soothe her. “We’ve got each other. It’ll be okay. Anyway, if Brittany does tell someone, who’s really going to believe her?”

Quinn leaned into Rachel’s touch, closing her eyes. It was amazing how much better Rachel could make her feel just by talking to her. “You’re right.”

“I’m always right. You should remember that.” Rachel grinned when Quinn laughed. She loved the sound of Quinn’s real laugh. It was rare to hear but that was why it was special.

“Ha ha.” Quinn sat quietly before remembering what she’d been wanting to ask Rachel about. They weren’t likely to be interrupted but it would change the relaxed mood they had going. However, she had to know. She had to know where things stood. “Finn’s been calling you lately. I haven’t picked up but should I?”

Rachel looked at Quinn in surprise. She hadn’t missed Finn at all. Not since they break up, really not since she and Quinn had switched. “N-no. I’ve been thinking about it, and I- I can’t believe I agreed to marry him. It’s- it’s crazy.”

“What is?” Quinn pulled Rachel closer to her, sensing she needed comfort.

“I think that I idealized our relationship,” Rachel said haltingly. “I think I saw Finn how I wanted to him to be and not how he is. I realize I loved the idea of him, not him. God, I’m awful person. He should hate me.”

“No. You’re just too young to be married. And you weren’t the only using someone. Finn wanted you to give him direction. It doesn’t make either of you bad people.” Quinn kissed the side of her head.

Rachel snuggled into Quinn even more. Something about the other girl relaxed her. Most of the time, she felt like her mind was going a mile a minute. Being close to Quinn made her stop. It felt good. “Maybe you’re right. I wish I’d realized that before I said yes.”

“Hey, it’s better that you realized it before you walked down the aisle.”

“Yeah.” Rachel sighed. “I know Finn’s hurting and I feel bad that I’m not. I want to make it better for him but I don’t see how.”

“There’s nothing you can do. He’s going to hurt for a while.” Quinn bit her lip as she considered her words. She really didn’t want to do anything that would push Finn and Rachel back together but she had to know that Rachel was sure with her decision. “Do you want me to say something to him? See if I can make it better?”

“No. He’s still so angry, he won’t listen.” Rachel shook her head furiously, picturing Finn looming over Quinn. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“He wouldn’t do anything. You know that,” Quinn pointed out.

“I do but I don’t want to risk it. Besides, what could you say? I’m not sorry it’s over. The only the thing that would make him feel better would be if we got back together and I don’t want to do that.”

Quinn tried to control her smile as relief filled her body. Even if this thing between her and Rachel didn’t turn into anything, at least Rachel would have her own dreams. “Okay. Whatever you want, Rach.”

Rachel giggled. “Wow, I like that sound of that.”

“Cute, Berry.” Quinn gripped Rachel’s hips and twisted her body so she had her pinned against the bench. “You know I don’t like to be teased.”

“Really? I think you like when I tease you.” Rachel lost some of her breath as she realized how close they were. Their bodies were pressed together, their lips inches from each other. If either of them moved, they would be kissing.

“Maybe a little.” Quinn’s eyes dropped to Rachel’s lips. This was it, this was the moment that would change everything between them.

Rachel watched Quinn watch her. The lust staring back at her was more than she could take. She couldn’t do this. She wasn’t ready. “I’d better go.”

“What?” Quinn fell back against the bench as Rachel pushed her away and scrambled to stand up.

“I- You- Your mom’s probably worried. I should get my stuff and go back.” Rachel spit out the first excuse she could think of and darted inside. She hoped she could get her things and leave before Quinn caught up with her. She didn’t know what to say, she didn’t know what she was feeling. The only she knew was that Quinn made her heart pound in a way that no one else ever had and it was scary.

“No. You don’t get to do this. You can’t just take off.” Quinn blocked Rachel as she tried to leave her bedroom. “Please. Just talk to me.”

“It- we- I-” Rachel twisted her arm from Quinn’s grasp and walked across the room. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Tell me what happened. We were having fun, talking, laughing, teasing each other. And then you freaked out. Tell me what I did.” Quinn’s eyes filled with tears as she worried that she had pushed Rachel too far and she was going to hate her.

“It wasn’t you. It- We were going to kiss, Quinn.” Rachel’s voice dropped to a whisper as she rested her head against her closet door.

“I- I know. I wanted to kiss you,” Quinn admitted, knowing she had to put all her cards on the table. She had to be honest with Rachel if this was going to work.

Rachel felt her heart jump into her throat at Quinn’s words. Hearing her say the words out loud made everything all the more real. “I did, too.”

“You did?” Quinn tried to keep the smile out of her voice but she couldn’t help but be thrilled by Rachel’s admission.

“Uh-huh.” Rachel shrugged, still avoiding eye contact with Quinn. “But I don’t know why. I mean, it hasn’t been over with Finn for that long. How- how can I possibly feel like this with you so soon? I don’t want to rush into anything but I- I want you.”

“It’s okay, Rach. We- we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. Just- just don’t take off on me, okay? Don’t leave me hanging, okay?” Quinn pleaded.

“Okay. I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt you. I’m just scared.” Rachel turned back to Quinn, reaching her hands out and sighing in relief when Quinn took them.

“And I told you, it’s okay. Nothing’s going to happen that you don’t want to happen.” Quinn tugged Rachel to her, sliding her hands to her back. She pressed herself against her, whispering soft words of comfort into her ear.

Rachel closed her eyes, allowing herself to sink into Quinn’s embrace. All the worries she had seemed to disappear when she was near Quinn. She just wanted to be with her and forget everything else. It had been so long since anything had made her feel like this. “Oh.”

“What? Did I- did I go too far?” Quinn asked, moving to let Rachel go, only stopping when Rachel’s grip grew stronger.

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong. Everything’s terrific.” Rachel stared down at Quinn, her body growing warm as she realized how close they were.

“Oh. Good.” Quinn’s body released some of its tension, not realizing that Rachel’s was moving even closer to her.

“Yeah. Good.” Rachel bent down, pressing her lips to Quinn’s. She kept a hold of Quinn’s waist, not willing to risk her stopping this. She knew it was too soon but she had to kiss her, had to know what she would taste like and it was wonderful. Rachel tasted cherries and she wondered absently if Quinn had bought some new lip gloss because all she usually had was strawberry. Shaking her head of those thoughts, Rachel refocused on her kisses, tracing Quinn’s lips with her tongue. She moaned when Quinn’s mouth opened and she could slip her tongue inside.

Quinn whimpered as Rachel deepened their kiss, sliding her hands into Rachel’s hair. Rachel kissed her slowly, as if they had all the time in the world. Nobody had ever kissed her like this, as if she was something special, something to be savored. She clutched at Rachel, feeling like she’d fall to the ground if she let go. The only thing keeping her upright was Rachel. She felt herself being pushed backwards and she hung on, taking Rachel with her as she fell onto the bed.

“Oh!” Rachel laughed as she landed on top of Quinn. “This seems to be going faster than we intended it to go.”

“I don’t mind.” Quinn’s eyes sparkled as she stared at Rachel. She couldn’t stop touching her. Rubbing her back, twirling her hair, kissing her cheeks.

“Me, either.” Rachel ran her fingers over Quinn’s face, rubbing her lip. “You- I- that was better than I ever imagined it would be.”

“You imagined kissing me?” Quinn teased, beaming when Rachel grinned back.

“I’ve said it before. You’re a very pretty girl. Sure, I was mostly wondering what Finn saw in you but I’ve thought about it.” Rachel shrugged. “And I saw more than fireworks, I saw stars and suns and galaxies.”

“Wow.” Quinn pulled Rachel back down to her, intending to kiss her gently but it quickly spun out of control into something wild and passionate. Hands explored bodies, touching and kissing without thought until Rachel pulled back, a strange lock on her face. “What?”

Rachel touched Quinn’s side, making her squirm, which is what made her pull back in the first place. “You’re ticklish just under your ribs. Like I am. Or, was.”

“Huh?” Quinn frowned, having no idea what Rachel meant.

“I- I kind of got pulled out of the moment. I- I know your body better that my own. Because it used to be mine. Being intimate with you- it’s kind of like masturbation.” Rachel shifted her eyes away from Quinn’s.

“Oh!” Quinn wiggled out from underneath Rachel. “Now that you’ve put that into my mind, I can’t get it out!”

“Don’t leave. I just- It just popped into my mind.” Rachel wrapped her hand around Quinn’s wrist. “We don’t have to do anything. I just want to be close to you.”

“We can do that.” Quinn laid her head on Rachel’s pillow. “I want to be close to you, too. But I don’t think we can do anything else until we switch back or we get used to being in each other’s bodies.”

“Okay.” Rachel stared at Quinn, unable to stop. Quinn was so amazing. She could hardly believe that she was here with her. If someone had told her a year ago that she’d be in bed with Quinn Fabray, she would have died laughing. But these circumstances were messing with her mind. She was with Quinn but looking at her own face. It was disconcerting. She’d always thought Quinn was so beautiful but now she was seeing her differently. It was sometimes hard for her to see herself as beautiful but with Quinn in her body, it was pretty easy. She ran her finger along her nose, a pensive look on her face as she looked at her own face.

“Hey. Quit thinking so hard.” Quinn captured Rachel’s hand in her own. “You’re beautiful. I’m so glad you decided not to change your nose because it’s part of what makes you you.”

“I’m glad I didn’t change it, either. And I’m glad you like it.”

“Can you stay tonight? I don’t really want to be alone tonight. Your dads both had meetings out of town, although they’ll be home in the morning.”

“Yeah, it’s fine. Judy said she wouldn’t be home tonight anyway.” Rachel caught Quinn’s frown and snuggled closer. “I’m sorry.”

“Whatever.” Quinn sighed and put her arms around Rachel. “It makes things easier on us, even if I wish she wouldn’t spend time with my father.”

Rachel pressed a kiss to Quinn’s shoulder. “Let’s not think about them. Let’s just think about us. About all the things we want to do.”

“That sounds nice.” Quinn allowed herself to be wrapped up in Rachel, forgetting everything but the girl in her arms for the rest of the night.

\----------------------

The first thing Rachel noticed when she woke up was the scent of lavender. Her nose buried in Quinn’s hair, she inched closer, wondering if Quinn had bought some of her own shampoo to use at her house. Opening her eyes, she got a face full of blonde hair and shrieked. “Oh, my God. Quinn!”

“Mmm.” Quinn groaned as she turned over to look at Rachel, her eyes still shut. “It’s still early. Let’s go back sleep.”

“Quinn! Wake up! We’re switched back.” Rachel shook Quinn’s shoulder excitedly.

“Huh?” Quinn open her eyes slowly, shooting up in the bed when she got a glimpse of Rachel. “Oh, my God! Rachel. Rachel, we’re back to normal.”

“I know.” Rachel launched herself into Quinn’s arms. “I’d given up. I thought we were going to be stuck like that forever.”

“Me, too. And, it’s not that I hated looking like you, I just wanted to be me.” Quinn yanked Rachel up so that they could stare at themselves in her mirror. “Look. We’re us again. Doesn’t it feel nice?”

“It does.” Rachel leaned against Quinn, tucking her head under her chin. “I like this much better. I fit better like this.”

“Yeah, I like being taller than you, too.” Quinn squeezed Rachel.

They stayed like that for a while, enjoying being in their own bodies. Finally Rachel pulled back and looked up at Quinn. “So? What happens now? Do- do you still want to try to figure this out?”

Quinn bit her lip, attempting to keep her face neutral. Of course Rachel changed her mind now that they were back to normal. “Not if you don’t want to. You- you probably want to try again with Finn, right? I bet he’d take you back. I know he loves you and you can just tell him you were out of your mind. That’s not even a lie.”

“No, I don’t want to get back together with Finn. I’d have preferred to actually be myself when we broke up, but it was the right thing to do.” Rachel took a step back as she felt Quinn’s walls shoot back up. “I- I have feelings for you, Quinn. I can’t marry Finn when I want you. It wouldn’t be fair.”

“You don’t have to spare my feelings,” Quinn snapped, feeling like Rachel was pacifying her. “I’m a big girl. I can handle anything you tell me.”

“Oh, Quinn.” Rachel softened as she recognized that Quinn was trying to protect herself. She wrapped her arms around her. “Don’t push me away. I don’t want to go anywhere.”

“We’re back to ourselves,” Quinn said, tears falling down her cheeks. “You- I’m not the only one who understands you anymore. Maybe- maybe that’s the only reason we got so close. You don’t need me anymore.”

“Is that really what you think? That I only cared because you were in my body?” Rachel asked as she drew circles on Quinn’s back.

“No. Not really. But you were with Finn before and you’d never even thought of me. What am I supposed to think?”

“You should trust me. I told you, I’ve always thought you were beautiful. And maybe I never thought of being with you before but you were the epitome of straight girl. I didn’t exactly think you’d want to be with me, either.” Rachel kept her hands on Quinn’s body, sighing in relief when she felt the other girl start to relax.

“I- I guess.” Quinn kissed the top of Rachel’s head. “I’m just scared.”

“I am, too. I don’t know what’s going to happen here but I know I want to try.” Rachel smiled at Quinn. “Don’t you want to see where this leads?”

Quinn nodded. “I do. I’m just not good at letting myself go after what I want. Whenever I try, it usually ends in disaster.”

“I can’t promise anything but I think we’ll be okay. Neither of us has a boyfriend, we’re not doing anything illegal. We can do this.” Rachel leaned in, stopping just before she reached Quinn’s lips. “Don’t you want to?”

“Yeah,” Quinn breathed out, capturing Rachel’s lips with her. She meant to be soft but passion overcame her and she immediately deepened the kiss. She pressed her body to Rachel’s, groaning at all the places their bodies touched.

Rachel pushed Quinn onto her bed, crawling on top of her. “You feel so good. I don’t want to stop. Not ever.”

“Me, either.” Quinn pushed Rachel’s hair off her face, smiling as it fell back. “But I think we should slow down a little.”

“Why?” Rachel trailed kisses down Quinn’s neck, settling at her collarbone. “We’re back to normal. It’s not masturbation anymore.”

“Cute.” Quinn smirked at the pout on Rachel’s face.

“Quinn,” Rachel whined. “Why are you stopping?”

“I don’t want to rush this. I want us to have a real chance.” Quinn cupped Rachel’s face in her hands. “This isn’t just physical for me. However much I want you, I can’t ruin this.”

Rachel collapsed onto Quinn, hiding her face in her neck. “I’m sorry. I’m acting like a hormone-crazed teenage boy. I just can’t get enough of you. But you’re right. You’re important to me. We shouldn’t push too far. Do you forgive me?”

“Nothing to forgive. I like that you think I’m irresistible.”

“Hey!” Rachel looked at Quinn, glaring playfully before shrugging sheepishly. “Yeah, I do. You’re so much more than that to me, you know? I’ve always thought so.”

Quinn placed her hands on Rachel’s back, keeping her in place. “I know. You- You’re the only one who always has. I owe you so much.”

Rachel frowned, smoothing Quinn’s hair, unable to stop touching her. “You’ve helped me, too. You’re the only one who stood your ground about the wedding.”

“Well, that wasn’t entirely unselfish. I mean, I did think you were too young to get married but I also…” Quinn trailed off, looking away as Rachel grew smug. “Yeah, I was jealous. Don’t rub it in.”

“I won’t. I’m just glad-” Rachel laughed. “I’m glad we got switched. I don’t want to think about what would have happen otherwise. I can’t imagine staying with Finn but I easily could have and I wouldn’t be here with you.”

“I’m glad we got switched, too. I wouldn’t have had the courage to make a move if we hadn’t been.” Quinn raked her nails up Rachel’s back, loving the shivers she felt. “I really care about you, Rach.”

“I care about you, too.” Rachel leaned into to kiss Quinn again when she heard a door slam downstairs. “Oh, my dads are probably home.”

Quinn sat up and pulled Rachel with her. “You should go see them. I know you’ve missed them. And I’m pretty sure they missed having their real daughter around.”

Rachel grasped Quinn’s hand. “I’m sure you were fine. But let’s go. I want to see them but I can’t let you go just yet.”

“Okay.” Quinn followed Rachel into the hallway. “You should tell them that you and Finn broke up. They’ll be thrilled.”

“What are you talking about? They said they were happy for us.”

“Yeah, they were lying.” Quinn held her hand up to stop Rachel’s protests. “I know when someone’s putting up a front and every time I mentioned Finn, they got really fake. They didn’t want to push you into marrying him just because you were stubborn and defiant.”

“Really?” Rachel’s mind flashed back to how her dads had acted since her engagement. They had seemed a little phony. “I- Wow, I can’t believe I let myself get so carried away in my fantasies that I didn’t even notice my parents were lying to me.”

“It’s all right. You figured everything out before it was too late.” Quinn slung her arm around Rachel. “And, you know, I’m happy with how things turned out.”

“I am, too.” Rachel kissed her quickly. “Let’s go downstairs.”

“Okay.” Quinn watched as Rachel greeted her fathers and thought back to the past few days. She hadn’t expected any of it but she wasn’t sorry. This thing with Rachel- it was everything she’d never known she wanted. For once in her life, she was excited about what was to come. As long as she had Rachel on her side, she knew she was ready.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm moving the fics the I posted on LJ over here. Thanks for reading.


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